


For A Good Time Call

by Phritzie



Series: You Wouldn't Steal A Heart [1]
Category: Runescape
Genre: Exhibitionism, F/M, Hazing, I'm Sorry, Inexcusable Nonsense, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 12:10:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13613088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phritzie/pseuds/Phritzie
Summary: An ASMRtist with a growing cult following and a student with chronic sleeping disorders. Modern AU.





	For A Good Time Call

**Author's Note:**

> a demon spawned deep in the bowels of an online world... I bring you... a very cursed tale.

The deadbolt slid into place with a clunk.

Taking a moment to remove her shoes, Felix threw her keys into a bowl on the counter of her kitchenette. Jacket slung carelessly over the chair at her desk, the trim points of her flat-ironed hair swept forward as she stretched to retrieve her phone from the inner pocket.

String lights flickered on at the flip of a switch. Her bed, a seductive invitation to abandon responsibility, was crowded into a corner by the window. The lavender sheets and pillowtop comforter lay rumpled by her morning rush, beckoning.  
  
The sparse studio contained little else but laundry and tons upon tons of paperwork. But Felix had decided long before disembarking her bus that there would be no patience left in her for tidying. _Gods, I am so tired._  
  
While she was brushing her teeth the friendly jingle of a notification sounded from where her phone was charging. Curious, she shuffled out of the bathroom and swiped open the lock over a photo of her nieces playing together in a sandbox.  
  
Her other hand stuttered and then ceased its lazy tooth polishing.  
  
The heartstopping snap timed out on her phone, and Felix rushed back to the sink to finish scraping her tongue.  
  
The image burned in her mind was that of a man very alien in his complexion, with pale markings and a provoking set of chinspikes. His black beanie hid the ridges of his hairless head. One paralyzing eye was shuttered, the other frozen in a wink. Two pointed fingers were raised in a knuckle-out peace sign as he photographed himself in the fore of a room containing recording equipment.  
  
_Streaming in 10, my darlings. Enjoy~_  
  
Felix couldn't properly date the moment she'd been introduced to ASMR, but she certainly remembered the first video Sliske posted. A controversial figure in his own right, he was a showstopper on the net. Not long after subscribing to his channel did she witness an explosion in his viewership, numbering in the hundreds of thousands when last she'd looked that way.  
  
Laptop stolen from her desk, she quickly redressed in a loose old t-shirt, buried herself under the covers, and flipped open her computer. The moment the browser became navigable, she was typing a streaming site url into her personalized search bar.  
  
A tiny purple cat mewed as she hit enter and waited for the page to load. Impatiently, she dug around on the floor beside her bed and jacked in the pair of earbuds she unearthed from beneath a sweater.  
  
Users were already pouring into the chatroom, and Felix sent a cursory greeting to some of the regular viewers she recognized. Only one or two responded, but that made sense given this was only her third go of it. Perhaps they'd warm up to her in time.  
  
She glanced at the clock on her screen, cursing herself for forgetting to check it when she'd opened the snap. Hesitant to leave the dead feed unattended but acknowledging of her needs, Felix decided to get some water before it was too late.  
  
Helpless to her fascination, the stream would become far too consuming for her to do much else once it began.  
  
Mahjarrat were fairly independent sorts. Just as likely to pursue their interests as any other race, but generally wary of too much attention. Felix assumed it was the result of centuries of being socially fetishized, of the public's obsession with their physical power and gothic appearance.  
  
Sliske was a viral sensation for those reasons and more.

The bright red LIVE dot flashed awake in the corner of her eye. She returned to bed, setting the dolphin printed novelty glass she'd bought in Tampa on the floor.  
  
The chatbox flooded with excited greetings and skull emoticons. Felix closed it with a wry smile. The flashing text detracted from the experience. Maximizing the stream window, she held her breath as the screen changed from black to a splash image of an upright Comedy, Sliske's branded trademark. A dreamy alternative track faded in slowly, one that'd been making it's way around the radio stations last month.  
  
She'd wondered once, a little irritated by the insinuation of his grandeur — _can you trademark ancient Greek theatre symbols?_ As it turned out, the mahjarrat could get away with quite a lot, and he often rode the edge between rule abiding and blasphemous.  
  
Felix released the breath she'd been holding as the music lowered in volume. A sensuous voice piped into her earbuds. She forced her eyes to remain open despite the somnifacient quality of it.  
  
"Hey there." The smoky rasp both wound and unwound what remained of the days tension. "Time for bed, my sweet."  
  
Felix reached behind her head and grabbed a round pillow, shoving it in place to prop her up in case she passed out prematurely. It happened on occasion and she was exhausted.  
  
"You're looking very sleepy," Sliske whispered, grazing the windscreen of the binary microphone. She shivered, a thrill that lanced through her chest without permission.  
  
Her guilty pleasure continued, cloth shifting and air stirring as he swayed to the other side. "Often, when we try to sleep, we are bombarded by endless thoughts." The splash screen faded as it was replaced by the sight of a pointed ear and a sultry grin. His dark complexion shone faintly purple under a dramatic, diffused light.  
  
"All those little things you yearn to accomplish tomorrow." A clawed hand trailed into view with mesmerizing motions that traced meaning from the air. "Forget them," Sliske demanded softly.  
  
He leaned back into full frame. Claws flicking, he tested the sensitivity of each microphone. It produced gentle swishes, the papery sound of skin on skin, and he smiled wider, eyelids lowering in pleased satisfaction over piercing topaz irises and midnight black sclera.   
  
His undulating fingers wove in and out of the camera's reach, pulsing with a life of their own. "You'll never have any of it if you can't sleep," Sliske insisted slyly. "And that's why I'm here, my darling voyeurs."  
  
Felix was holding her breath again, and she released it all in a trembling sigh. Sliske loved to call attention to the perversely invasive nature of ASMR, seemingly delighting in not just stirring a debate online, but the idea itself.  
  
She liked to think she was immune to it, but...  
  
"I've brought a few props with me, of course." A clawtipped hand emerged from the left, holding an object aloft that she recognized as the wooden skull featured in some of his other content. Tapping rhythmically against the false crown, he chuckled lowly. "Oh yes."  
  
The Pavlovian jolt that accompanied his laughter was a little embarrassing but apparently very common in the community. He'd uploaded a short compilation of only laughing once, but Felix didn't dare to watch, fearing what it might do to her.  
  
"But," the dark mahjarrat whispered, quietly removing the skull from view, "I will also be using my hands." He wiggled long fingers illustratively, trailing them down his neck, and Felix swallowed.

"And I will come in closer." His wicked eyes were bright as he lilted to the left and spoke in the microphone, tickling her ear. "Because just a little bit of... close-up attention—" A low hum escaped him as he dragged the shining points of his claws along the camera. The corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile, revealing a sharp tooth. "—Makes for much more effective tingles," Sliske concluded softly, smirk growing as he drew back.

"So, if you feel yourself drifting away." His head bent seriously to regard everyone through the camera, hypnotic voice teasing. "Let yourself be taken. Do not try to stay awake."  
  
The command sounded lighthearted, but his eyes chilled her, a flash of intention bleeding across them. "Or face punitive measures."  
  
Felix stifled a nervous huff at the threat.

 _So dramatic._  
  
The stream commenced from there.

Sliske would peak at the chat now and then for suggestions, and he devilishly mocked a few users for their submissions, snickering rudely when someone proposed he ruffle playing cards naked.  
  
"Please," he muttered, winking at the camera as he hooked a claw into his shirt. "I would never do such a thing... for free."  
  
_Stop it_ , Felix compelled drowsily. Sometimes the secondhand embarrassment she felt at his rampant exhibitionism really was too much to handle.  
  
He gently pulled on the material and a little tear appeared. "Oops. How thoughtless of me."  
  
Tonight, the sheer indecency of it was killing her.  
  
"But perhaps some of you do appreciate sounds such as this," Sliske said, feather soft, and steadily drew the sharp tip down and out of sight. Her eyes widened in disbelief.  
  
_No. Come on, t_ _hat is blatantly against the terms of service._  
  
And yet he did it, an evil light in his foreign gaze as he completely ripped through his shirt, the quiet shredding of cotton momentarily the only sound on the stream.  
  
Felix had to suppress the immature urge to open the chat and look at the reactions, attention captured by the way he smoothed a hand over his head, taking his hat with it. Exposed were the risen bands that decorated his skull in a bumpy wave, highlighted by the same fair, gray markings on his face. The sparkling yellow gem embedded at the apex of his forehead made her gasp.  
  
_I didn't think he had one._  
  
The luxurious unveiling was interrupted only by Sliske's decision to take up the knitted cap in his claws and knead it. Laughing, he manipulated the soft fabric for the camera.  
  
"Getting warmer out, darlings," he hushed, and discarded it.  
  
Then he was really pushing the limits of site moderation, arching to allow the tattered remains of his shirt to slide down both arms. There was nothing underneath. From his audience's perspective he might as well have been nude.  
  
Pulled as if by gravity into the microphone on the right, Sliske whispered daringly, "now whose fault was that?" She imagined he possessed multiple monitors because seconds later he laughed low in his throat, a suggestion of eye darting and narrowing to regard some writing. "How quickly you throw each other overboard. Yes, I knew it had to be you, XxZarozxX... now to pay up."  
  
He shifted, gem reflecting the understated lighting as Sliske retrieved a device that immediately filled her with anticipatory dread.  
  
The previous week he'd hosted a relatively simple ASMR session. Halfway through it Felix had fallen asleep — _as instructed_ — and woke sometime later that night to the filthiest, most jawdropping noises she'd ever heard come out of a stranger.  
  
_Seems like it's going in that direction again._  
  
A shame, considering that meant the stream would be shut down not long after by a flustered mod.  
  
He waved the phone in his hand gleefully, running skittering claws over the glassy surface and curly shadow-patterned case.  
  
"You, naughty viewer, must post a picture of yourself within the next minute. No, I don't care how you look. Go. Do it." His commands were undercut by giggles, but from a few reaction videos floating around online Felix knew he would end the stream himself if they didn't play along. "And use my hashtag."  
  
Her phone sat beside her on the bed, battery life suffering for this terrible cause. Lifting it bonelessly, she opened Twitter.  
  
Felix refreshed #ASliskeMR and made a noise of pure horror. "Oh _no_." She back-paged almost immediately, face red.

Seconds later she heard it.

A terrible, low growl rattled through her earbuds and she squeezed her eyes shut as the sound invaded her home and swiftly cut her to pieces. "Yes," Sliske whispered in mad approval. Clawed hands caressed his phone possessively. "Perfect. By the way, what an adorable rabbit. Thanks for including them."  
  
_So embarrassing_. The man in question did own a cute bunny, but Gods, why did Sliske's most loyal viewers have to be so shameless?  
  
Felix supposed this truly was an occasion to open the chat.  
  
A flood of messages appeared faster than she could read, effusing support and distaste for the hazing ritual, some further still offering compliments as to the user's bravery. Conversation tumbling onward into the ridiculous, she could dimly make out the sound of a package being opened and new, inflexible cards being ruffled and shuffled. Someone loudly announced their departure at this development, and another user told them to pound sand.

She typed a sullen statement about how the game, while riveting, would probably get the stream closed again. A few people shot back in defense about its harmlessness, stirring a completely new argument.

"What's this?" Sliske muttered, a tickle in her right ear, and Felix grew cold as she realized her mistake.  
  
A slew of messages indicated what she already knew and she turned repentant eyes to the center of the screen.  
  
_Don't you fucking dare_. She mentally willed herself to calm down. _You edgelord. I won't. I'll NEVER watch another stream again._  
  
"Well... who is this I see doubting my methodology?"

The alien performer whispered musically, curling his claws in a wave for emphasis.

"I'd hate to disappoint."  
  
Those snitches ratted Felix out immediately.  
  
Sliske ghosted grinning lips along the muffling shield on the left microphone. "Interesting. I don't recognize that username."  
  
She glanced at the counter indicating the amount of people currently either watching the stream or, potentially, sleeping with it in the background. Felix was aware of the fact that streamers generally entertained far smaller audiences than their subscription count boasted, but...  
  
Heart plummeting, she regarded the low number with sincere regret.

 _Wouldn't have_ _spoken out if I knew I'd have a target on my back._  
  
Sliske cleared his throat softly and mocked a bow with his head and neck. "Welcome, wor1d_guardian. Normally, I would just ban you, but it seems you're new around here. I'll explain our little game."  
  
He raised his phone.

 _Gods, just leave it._  
  
"You must post a picture of yourself, however you like, on Twitter," he breathed, "but it must be identifying and have your username in it somewhere." He typed something on a keyboard out of sight. "You have five minutes. Go now."  
  
Felix watched in bizarre fascination as she was kicked from the chatroom and the stream went dark, a little timer indicating 04:58, 04:57 and so on until the ban on her account would expire, a reminder of the deadline.  
  
_This is ridiculous._  
  
_I don't have to do this!_  
  
Years of eye-rolling about peer pressure and a generally strong sense of character had shielded Felix from a lot of stupid shit.  
  
But it was eleven pm on a Friday, her heart was racing, and the clock was ticking.  
  
04:42...  
  
She looked down at herself. By the grace of Guthix he'd given her enough time to change, cry, or wash her face, but not all three.  
  
04:37...  
  
"Wow," Felix remarked. She stumbled to her feet and yanked her earbuds out. "I'm actually considering this."  
  
Her gaze landed on a pair of cat ears that she'd worn last Halloween, hanging from a hook in the closet.  
  
_Absolutely not, I would never hear the end of it._  
  
She spied a rumpled looking dress on the floor next to her bookbag and squinted. It was too obviously a bid for attention, and she didn't want that necessarily... just the option to keep watching these absurd streams.  
  
Felix peaked at the timer: 03:17.  
  
And _then_ she realized what would happen when she sent her image out into the void of the internet.  
  
Sliske would receive the alert on his phone, because it didn't make sense not to @ him if she was using his ridiculous hashtag.  
  
He would look at it, make an absurdly cruel noise or moan openly, and then she would be subject to further ridicule. Whether it came from him or the cavalcade of thirsty users waiting in the chat would be up to whichever god decided such things.  
  
The timer read 02:09 when Felix finally took action.  
  
She scribbled her username on an index card swiped from her desk.  
  
Took her baggy t-shirt off.  
  
Washed her face.  
  
Laid back in bed with the card over her eyes.  
  
And took a selfie.  
  
When she examined it for coverage Felix decided it wasn't too bad. It was safe for work, and her hair wasn't its usual springy mess of coils. That would be less... incriminating if anyone found and attempted to link her to it later, and she could use her side account - the one that matched her username on Quiver.  
  
The timer read 00:23 when she posted it.  
  
_@Sssliske This is immature as hell but I can't sleep otherwise, so, fuck it #ASliskeMR_  
  
Felix took a deep breath, grabbed her earbuds, and logged back into the chatroom.  
  
While she'd been flurrying about that sneaky alien was apparently colluding with his viewership, chuckling and rubbing his claws together in the microphone as they speculated about what 'wor1d_guardian' would do.  
  
His phone buzzed. Felix willed herself to be brave despite the sick pounding in her chest, and watched.  
  
As Sliske opened the tag and tapped the thumbnail of what she assumed to be her photo, he seemed to freeze in place. Calculating claws tilted the phone this way and that, pinching to zoom.  
  
Her blush returned full force and she firmly reminded herself that nothing was showing, she was safe.  
  
But he hadn't made a sound, and the chatbox in her periphery was going mad with speculation about it.  
  
Slowly, such that it didn't show at first, his eyes narrowed.  
  
His lips parted.  
  
Then, Sliske pivoted at the waist, casting a fully over-the-top and infuriatingly glib look over his shoulder as he growled fiercely: "Sweet darlings, please give a warm welcome to our naughtiest viewer yet!" And cackled.  
  
Felix slammed her laptop shut, cutting off the sound of his bonechilling howls of amusement.  
  
Her phone chimed happily a few moments later.  
  
_@Sssliske liked your Tweet_  
  
_@Sssliske followed you_


End file.
